Formed in

Basking Ridge, New Jersey Basking Ridge is an unincorporated community located within Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) 07920 w ...

in 1980, the band Uncle Green consisted of Matt Brown (guitar and vocals), Jeff Jensen (guitar, vocals), Bill Decker (bass and keyboards), Pete McDade (drums), and Danny Giordano (tambourine and vocals). Brown and Jensen were the principal songwriters and vocalists for the group.

History

Early years

After relocating to Atlanta, the band recorded a single, "Holes" b/w "Heaven", in 1986, and two independent records, ''Get It Together'' and ''15 Dryden'', for New Vision Records in 1987 and 1988. Creative differences led Giordano to leave Atlanta for New York after the first LP, where he formed the band Humbolts. Uncle Green soon met an ascendant

Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to: *Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer *Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...

, near the beginning of his producing career, with whom they recorded the albums ''You'' and ''What An Experiment His Head Was'' for

DB Records DB Records (stylized as DB RECS) was a record label owned by Danny Beard, active from 1978 to 1997. The label was operated out of the Wax'n'Facts record store in the Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood of Little Five Points. Through the 1980s, the ...

. After establishing themselves as a well-known regional college-rock band, they signed a contract with Atlantic Records in 1992 and recorded '' Book of Bad Thoughts''. Like all of their efforts, the album was lauded by critics, but establishing commercial viability proved more difficult. Subsequent tours supporting The Reivers,

Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ...

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Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

and Ben Folds Five helped increased their visibility. In 1994, the band took part in the Indigo Girls project ''Jesus Christ Superstar: A Resurrection'' and appear on the studio cast album. In 1995 part of a solo Matt Brown set recorded at

Eddie's Attic Eddie's Attic is a music club in Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 1992 in music, 1992 by Eddie Owen (entrepreneur), Eddie Owen, it is a venue for both local musical talent and musicians of some acclaim who often got their start in the Atlanta area. ...

in Decatur, Georgia, was included on the album ''Solo, Volume I'', released by the independent label Sister Ruby. The album included original songs that do not appear on any of the group's albums, as well as a cover of

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...

's "Nighttime". The same year, Uncle Green contributed a version of "

Ballad of a Thin Man "Ballad of a Thin Man" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan, and released in 1965 on his sixth album, ''Highway 61 Revisited''. Recording Dylan recorded "Ballad of a Thin Man" in Studio A of Columbia Records in New York City, located at 799 ...

" to ''A Tribute to Bob Dylan, Vol. 2'', also on the Sister Ruby label.

Renaming

Disappointed with their limited success, the band renamed themselves 3 lb. Thrill (the weight of the human brain) and recorded the harder-edged ''Vulture'' for O'Brien's new label, 57 Records, a subsidiary of

Sony 550 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony building, ...

and Epic. This spawned a minor radio hit, "Diana", which examined the uncomfortable subject of child molestation and suffered commercially as a result. A video was recorded for the single "Something Will Come", directed by Peter Christopherson. 3 lb. Thrill's second album, ''Rycopa'', was recorded in 1997 with engineer Caram Costanzo but remained unavailable until December 2011, when fans supported a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for its release after the missing master tapes were found and acquired from Sony. They also used the opportunity to release a collection of outtakes called ''Scrapple''. A very prolific band, numerous other compilations of unreleased recordings circulate among fans.

Solo projects

Matt Brown's solo album ''Morning After Medicine Show'', recorded with producer Rick Neigher, drummers Pete Thomas and Dan McCarroll, and keyboardist

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. Jaffee has contributed to six of the band's studi ...

, was recorded in 1999 and also saw limited release in 2011. Several other unreleased solo projects circulate. Brown toured as a musician for

Brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

in 1997, and produced the album ''Eleven Emergency Lessons'' for indie-rock band Amphibian Skin, headed by songwriter Michael Wescott, in 2003. Jensen and McDade also perform on the record. McDade's drums can also be heard on Atlanta musician Paul Melançon's album, ''Camera Obscura'', released by

Daemon Records Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

in 2002. In 2014 Brown produced a record by Nancy Gardos called ''The Grand View.''

Reunions

In 2005 and in 2006, as 3 lb. Thrill and Uncle Green respectively, the band reunited for special performances at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta and

in Decatur, Georgia. In 2009, Brown played a rare solo set, opening for

Jon Auer Jonathan Paul "Jon" Auer (born September 29, 1969) is an American musician who co-founded the power pop band The Posies, along with Ken Stringfellow. Auer and Stringfellow also participated in the rejuvenated Big Star and in 2003 released ''Priv ...

at Eddie's Attic. McDade played percussion and Jensen provided occasional backing vocals. In February 2012, performing simultaneously as both Uncle Green and 3 lb. Thrill, the band came together for a show at Smith's Olde Bar to celebrate the release of ''Rycopa''. In April 2012, Matt Brown created the Facebook Theme Music Group, which quickly grew from a handful of musicians to over 800 members by its one-year anniversary in April 2013. Members include Jeff Jensen and Pete McDade of Uncle Green as well as professional and amateur musicians from the United States, Europe, and Australia.

Discography

Uncle Green

* "Holes" b/w "Heaven" (Twilight Records, 1986) * ''Get it Together'' (New Vision, 1987) * ''15 Dryden'' (New Vision, 1988) * ''You'' (

, 1989) * ''What an Experiment His Head Was'' (

, 1991) * '' Book of Bad Thoughts'' ( Atlantic Records, 1992) * "

" (on ''A Tribute to Bob Dylan, Vol. 2'', Sister Ruby, 1995)

3 Lb. Thrill

* ''Vulture'' (Sony/57 Records, 1995)

Uncle Green / 3 lb. Thrill

* ''Rycopa'' (1997, UG Records 2011) * ''Scrapple'' (UG Records, 2011)

Matt Brown

* ''Solo, Volume I'' (Sister Ruby, 1995) * ''Potshots in the Dark'' (self-released cassette, 1998) * ''Jigsaw Matinee'' (self-released cassette, 1999) * ''Future Perfect Future'' (2002, unreleased) * ''The Morning After Medicine Show'' (2000, Uncle Green 2011)

as featured musicians

* ''Jesus Christ Superstar: A Resurrection'' (cast album,

, 1994) * ''Camera Obscura'' - Paul Melançon (

, 2002) * ''Eleven Emergency Lessons'' - Amphibian Skin (Cattle Clatter, 2003)